Improving the campus experience at the University of Toronto through student-led design
Written by Georgia Maxwell (Senior Research Assistant) and Marcus Lomboy (Design Research Assistant for Transforming the Instructional Landscape)
For the past four years, the Innovation Hub has teamed up with the Learning Space Management (LSM) Team to examine how learning environments can be improved for both instructors and students.
By Betelehem Gulilat, Lead Editor & Writer
What does it mean to be creative? At first thought, you may think of artists, designers, musicians as creatives, and indeed they are. However, being creative is more abstract than we imagined it to be. An entire field of creative studies exists that has dated back to the 1930s, simply dedicated to understanding the concept of creativity 1.
By Philippa Gosine, Senior Research Assistant
Through our user-centered consultations, we’ve realized that learning spaces are extremely personal and important places for the people that use them. Instructors and students have a strong sense of ownership over their classrooms and want to see their individual needs and preferences in the design of learning spaces.
By Darren Clift, Writer
Each cohort of students arrives at UofT with unique considerations and learning style preferences. Today’s students are digital natives; technology is a fundamental tool for socialization and self-improvement in their lives. Since students’ needs have changed, classrooms and teaching methods must adapt. A standard room with standard desks might not favour learning, while a standard lecture style might distract rather than inspire.
At the Innovation Hub, we are what we do. We commit ourselves to community growth through prototyping and iteration, not only in the design projects we take on, but also in designing our own work processes. By being responsive to the changing needs of the community—both internally, within our own team, and externally, with our project partners—we continually improve our practices.
By Jacqueline Beaulieu, Integrated Learning Experience Student Co-Leader
As a full-time PhD student in the Higher Education program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, I study decision-making processes in student affairs and services and implications for shared governance in higher education. As the student leader for the Innovation Hub’s Integrated Learning Team, I thought it would be appropriate to contribute a blog post that integrates my own learning as a result of participating in the Innovation Hub with that from my thesis-related work.
By Julia Smeed, Innovation Hub Project Lead
Since the launch and the Day of Learning, our five Domains for Innovation have been evolving. A team of over 30 Ambassadors continued this work which led to six versions of the domains for innovation. We are so pleased to say that thanks to all of the input and feedback from the community, we have landed on the following five domains:
